This projection was drawn by Arno Peters, a German
historian, in the late 1970s. Based on the nineteenth-century Lambert's
projection, it was designed to correct some of the distortions of
traditional maps, such as Mercator. It is known as an equal area
map, as it shows the areas and proportions of countries more accurately.
It is fairer to countries of the South, many of which were traditionally
portrayed as smaller than their actual size.
However, there are still distortions on this map:
it stretches land east to west near the poles, and in a north-south
direction near the Equator. Land masses appear elongated, so although
their true size is shown, their shapes are inaccurate. For instance,
Antarctica, which is a rounded land mass, is generally shown as
a long strip of land, stretching the complete length of the map.
Because of these distortions, the map has caused much
controversy since its introduction. However, it is now used by Oxfam
and other development agencies who wish to show the sizes and proportions
of countries of the South more accurately.
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